Yesterday, I received the terrible news that my cousin’s wife died. They have two very young daughters. Honestly, friends, I am a little overloaded with the feeling of sadness these days. It’s getting to me, and “glum” is so not my “go-to” state in life. I think most people would describe me as cheerful, upbeat and optimistic. I would describe myself that way. I still am cheerful, upbeat and optimistic. It’s just that lately, I feel like I am clinging to these states of being with white knuckles and angry, indignant frustration, added to the mix of my stubborn peace and happiness.
In all truthfulness, my life is mostly amazing. But I have also gone through my fair load of sh*t in life, just like everyone else. I could list some of my worst experiences and you would say to me, “Yikes. That’s really, really crumby.” But on a much bigger list, I could list all of my life’s blessings and miracles and wonderful experiences and you would say, “Wow, you are so damn lucky!” I suspect most human lives would fall along these lines. In most of our lives, the good still outweighs the bad.
My college friends recently bought me a beautiful pendant. It is a Celtic knot and it holds the word “UNBREAKABLE”. It means a lot to me, that my friends see my strength, and know that I will survive whatever life has in store for me. And I will thrive through the thrilling times, too. I wish that I didn’t have to focus so much on my steely, “unbreakable” side these days, but this part of me is what is forcibly carrying me to the softer, kinder times, surely to be close around the bend. Sometimes being strong and unbreakable, means remaining cheerful, upbeat and optimistic, no matter what!
Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.
Kelly,
What a great gift from your friends.
My friend constantly tells me, ‘your joy will give you strength.’ I try to find joy, wherever I can. I am flying back to Florida after being my aging parents in Pittsburgh for 10 days. I have cooked, taken them to the doctors, the banks, the lawyers, visited with my dad’s sister, and my mom’s sister. I have done everything that I could to help them. I feel just awful leaving them. However, I sang and prayed all the way to the airport, it beat crying….the joy in that gave me strength.
You are in my prayers.
Try to find the joy…..
Take care of you, too!
I’m so happy that you had a nice visit and could be there for your parents, Joan. <3 Find the joy!
Wow, excellent self-care, Joan!
Ah, unbreakable.
For so many, it means steely determination, hard, inflexible, holding it all together.
But the truth is that unbreakable calls out to us to yield, to be flexible, but to hold fast in all things.
Kelly, you are currently enduring a series of storms, and that is a tough thing to go through, especially when they come one right after another. But I think of you as a graceful willow tree. Your branches may be whipped around by the wind, tossing this way and that, and aboveground everything looks like chaos.
However, under the ground, you have strong, deep roots. You are centered, you are firm. You have your family, your faith, your innate sense of joy, and most of all, you have hope. Cling to the things that matter and you will be unbreakable. The storms will pass, the sun will shine again, and you will have remained steadfast. Don’t apologize for feeling your feelings. They are here to teach you. Thank the pain, the fear, the anxiety for the awareness it creates, and then release it. (Easy to say when you are not in the middle of it, right?)
Today is a new moon – the perfect time to do a little ritual for yourself. Thank the negative feelings, release them, then seed what you want to manifest instead. We begin a new 2 1/2 year cycle – what do you want that to look like? Visualize it, make it happen! The world is yours, and you are unbreakable.